Major crypto payment processor BitPay has announced the launch of BitPay Send, a new mass payout service that allows organizations to pay their employees, affiliates, customers, vendors, contractors, and others with cryptocurrency. The development could help the company reach out to businesses that want to pay in crypto, but are hesitant to hold it for security reasons.
Stephen Pair, CEO of BitPay, was quoted in a statement as saying that “traditional international payment methods are cumbersome, costly and slow. With BitPay Send, companies can make mass payouts without having to buy, own or manage crypto and their recipients receive payments quicker and at a lower cost”.
The service is available in some 225 countries, and payments are subject to a 1% fee. Recipients are not required to have a bank account. They are, however, obliged to have a BitPay ID and a crypto wallet.
The payment processor, that also offers BitPay Wallet and BitPay Prepaid Card, funds payments in fiat and leverages the blockchain to send pre-tax payments without requiring the service’s users to own or handle cryptocurrency. This allows users to make payroll payments, facilitate customer cashout requests, pay independent contractors or affiliates, issue rewards or rebates, and financially settle with marketplace sellers, according to BitPay.
The new feature pits BitPay against other companies that provide similar services, such as San Francisco-based crypto business BitWage. In comparison, the firm’s standard subscription for payroll and invoicing services is free-of-charge for companies, but the incurred charges include a 2% and USD 1 fee for stablecoin wage distribution, among others.
One of the first companies to use BitPay’s new functionality include New York-based digital advertising firm AdGate Media which is to use the service to pay its global network of affiliates, the statement said.
“We have lots of affiliates who wanted to be paid in bitcoin, especially those who are based outside North America and Europe where access to bank accounts is difficult,” said Dan Sapozhnikov, President of AdGate, adding that they “did not want to buy and hold crypto.”
